Independent Media: OMOCAT

OMOCAT is the username and trademark of a "person who likes to make things. She has recently been doing a lot of comics and shirt designs."  The wonderful thing about the internet is the ability to remain anonymous despite your dealings.  OMOCAT is infamous on the web as being a wonderful cartoonist who creates drawing to her liking, sometimes thought provoking, for her amusement.  She's influenced by anime, classic and cult video games, and events of her childhood.  She's a freelance illustrator and student, located somewhere in Los Angeles, California.  Her comics, merchandise and artwork are considered an independent media, as they are her own views that distributes themselves via the internet.

OMOCAT is run by a single woman who remains unknown, or simply doesn't leave her name hanging around on the web.  She's a tumblr user with over 53,000 followers and the owner of OMOCAT Shop.  She has published six books and had pieces published.  Yet, despite her relative fame, her work remains free for viewing on her website, www.omo-cat.com/about.  Her main from of focus for me in this review is her clothing that she makes and sells.

OMOCAT creates her own clothing from her designs and sells them at her liking.  Since OMOCAT is a single woman, distributing her design, producing it, and even exhibiting it on her own, it is considered Independent Media.  She's the one that's solely in charge of her work.  She designs the shirts on things she finds profound, as the aforementioned picture are the important quotes from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion. (My first blog post).  Despite the show being mainstream, her work is independent as she doesn't make it for the program or the company, but to sell for herself on the internet.

 OMOCAT's audience is mixed.  There are times when her products are for all ages, such as her infamous Legend of Zelda comics but there are other times, like her line of OMOCATBOY that's above that contain swearing. Not only that, but there are profound messages in her work that might be difficult for a younger audience to understand..

OMOCAT's work matters because she's as step in the direction all freelance artists want to be.  She's doing what she wants and still supporting herself.  Her shop and her free comics are considered Independent Media sources as they are solely made by her and sold by her.